Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I have been doing something a bit different this year. In my reading journal there is a space to put your favourite and least favourite read of each month and I thought today I would share my least favourite reads this year.
January – An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
This book had a stronger romantic element rather than plot element, compared to margaret rogerson’s other books – both Vespertine and Sorcery of Thorns are some of my favourite books. I enjoyed Isobel, the main character and I liked how the story and the romance progressed but as I say, compared to the author’s other books I went into it with higher expectations.
February – This Is Not A Game by Kelly Mullen
I used this book for a chapter in my PhD, however I did not enjoy it. I felt it was trying to take elements of the cosy and the traditional mysteries but did not mesh them well.
March – The Village Library Demon Hunting Society
This book has to be one of my least favoruite of the year, even now in November of the same year I read it I can’t remember much of it, all I remember is how much I disliked reading it, I remember being both frustrated and confused and thinking there was no plot.
April – The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
Having seen the TV show for this book and loving it, I had high expectations for this book and this author who I have read and enjoyed previously. However, I did not love it, I thought it was okay but a little but clumpy and dragged put in places.
May – The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
This is probably my least favourite Agatha Christie book, there’s not much I can say other than I found it a little bit boring.
June – How to Sway A Bard
This book was too short. The premise was excellent, but it wasn’t given enough time and attention to make it amazing.
July – The Mystery of the Painted Dragon
This is a young, middle grade mystery series and it is the third book in that series. I enjoyed the series but I decided to not continue with the fourth book after this one.
August – A Novel Murder
Honestly, I didn’t even reach 100 pages into this book, I did not like the self-pitying main character and I couldn’t imagine growing to like them so this was easily one of my least favourite books of the year.
September – I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan
I finished more than half of this book but I struggled with getting into the story, it just didn’t hold my interest.
October – The Coven by Harper L Woods
This book had a very intriguing premise, it lacked substance for me and felt very rushed but it was still quite enjoyable.
November – The Ripper of Whitechapel by Yvette Fielding
This was a short, engaging, middle grade book which I found good but maybe only a three star read while everything else I read in November was a four or above.
I do not have an answer for December yet as I am still reading for this month, but this is the least favourite books for each month so far this year.
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today.
Today I am bringing you my book review for Nine Lives by Peter Swanson, I read this during September and honestly I had been putting off reading the book because of the things I had heard about it. So, I am glad that I have finally read it and if you want to hear my thoughts, read on! Just so you know there might be light spoilers in this post.
Blurb/Synopsis:
Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke – until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor.
FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next….
My Review:
I have read one of Peter Swanson’s books before and I found it to be quite enjoyable, it was easy to guess the ending but good none the less. So, when Nine Lives came out a few years ago it sounded interesting and I bought a copy but then I started seeing other people not enjoy the book and it put me off reading it but I was looking for a short, quick read and I decided to pick it up and.. it was exactly like everyone said it was.
Okay, in terms of the novel itself it was well written and overall plotted quite nicely. The problem is that it very clearly was inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, I think had I read Nine Lives without ever seeing, hearing about or reading And Then There Were None I would have enjoyed Nine Lives more as a quick easy read but as it was I found it a bit dragging because I sort of knew what was coming. I also couldn’t get a connection with any of the characters because they weren’t on the page for very long and I also didn’t understand the overall motivations of the killer, it didn’t make much sense to me.
Overall I gave this book a three star rating because as a book I would describe it as ‘fine’ but as a novel with the intentions it had it wasn’t to my taste.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today.
Seeing as it is now fully summertime I thought it would be fun to think back on the books I have read and give a few summer recs!
Dead man’s Folly by Agatha Christie
This is my second favourite Agatha Christie novel, second to Halloween Party, and there are village fairs and secrets and I adore this book.
Lying About Last Summer by Sue Wallman
It is literally in the title, and it is a great, twisty mystery. I know a lot of people like to read thrillers and mysteries in the summer and this would be a great choice.
What Would Jane Austen Do by Linda Corbett
This is a nice, sweet, summery romance novel and I think it is set in summer because it features a literary festival and they are mostly held in the summer months if they are outside.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
This book is a sweet, cosy fantasy with some romance and it feels like a good summer read.
Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell
Even the colours on the covers of this series scream series, same as Vampire Academy the series gets dark in some places but it is a brilliant fantasy series great for the summer.
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
This is a nostalgic one for me, I love this series and it is a young adult vampire series, to me it just feels like a summer series, it gets dark in places but the characters and their humour keep things light.
Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. Seeing as it is spooky season I thought it may be fun to share with you all my top 15 murder mystery books and this is one of my favourite genres to read so this was a difficult choice. Let me know if any of your favourites are on this list or if there are any you would have put on here instead.
The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Dangerous Women by Hope Adams
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Happy Monday bookish people! As it is getting so close to Halloween I thought it would be a fun idea to give some spooky book reccomendations, now I don’t read too many ‘spooky books’, murder mysteries yes but not so much terrifying books so I hope you find something to match your interests in this list! Let me know if you do!
This Lie Will Kill You by Chelsea Pitcher
“Will keep readers on edge from start to finish.” —Kirkus Reviews
Tell the truth. Or face the consequences.
Clue meets Riverdale in this page-turning thriller that exposes the lies five teens tell about a deadly night one year ago.
One year ago, there was a party. At the party, someone died. Five teens each played a part and up until now, no one has told the truth.
But tonight, the five survivors arrive at an isolated mansion in the hills, expecting to compete in a contest with a $50,000 grand prize. Of course…some things are too good to be true.
Now, they realize they’ve been lured together by a person bent on revenge, a person who will stop at nothing to uncover what actually happened on that deadly night, one year ago.
Five arrived, but not all can leave. Will the truth set them free? Or will their lies destroy them all?
The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah
‘I’m a dead woman, or I shall be soon…’
Hercule Poirot’s quiet supper in a London coffeehouse is interrupted when a young woman confides to him that she is about to be murdered. She is terrified – but begs Poirot not to find and punish her killer. Once she is dead, she insists, justice will have been done.
Later that night, Poirot learns that three guests at a fashionable London Hotel have been murdered, and a cufflink has been placed in each one’s mouth. Could there be a connection with the frightened woman? While Poirot struggles to put together the bizarre pieces of the puzzle, the murderer prepares another hotel bedroom for a fourth victim…
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady hendrix
A fast-paced, thrilling horror novel that follows a group of heroines to die for, from the brilliant New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.
In horror movies, the final girl is the one who’s left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?
Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she’s not alone. For more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette’s worst fears are realized–someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.
But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.
The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh
In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.
When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.
At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful.
Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
A teenage murder witness is drowned in a tub of apples… At a Hallowe’en party, Joyce—a hostile thirteen-year-old—boasts that she once witnessed a murder. When no-one believes her, she storms off home. But within hours her body is found, still in the house, drowned in an apple-bobbing tub. That night, Hercule Poirot is called in to find the ‘evil presence’. But first he must establish whether he is looking for a murderer or a double-murderer…
See How They Lie by Sue Wallman
All’s not well at the Hummingbird Creek wellness resort. No one can see in. No one can get out… New from the talented author who brought you Lying About Last Summer: a psycho-chiller to wake up your darkest phobias. If you got to live in a luxury hotel with world-class cuisine, a state-of-the-art sports centre and the latest spa treatments, would you say ‘yes please’? Well, that’s kind of what Hummingbird Creek is like. No wonder Mae feels lucky to be there. It’s meant as a rich-kid’s sanatorium, but she isn’t sick. Her dad is the top psychiatrist there. But one day Mae breaks a rule. NOT a good idea. This place is all about rules – and breaking them can hurt you…
The Cousins by Karen M McManus
Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each other, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised… and curious.
Their parents are all clear on one point—not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious—and dark—their family’s past is.
The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over—and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Jack the Ripper is back, and he’s coming for Rory next….
Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him – the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target…unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to turn the tables.
Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
Presented by James Patterson’s new children’s imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion…
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.
The story’s shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.
Happy Monday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. I am bringing you a new book review, I say new; I read this book in January I think and I am only just getting around to writing the review for it but nevermind, I am doing it now.
In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.
The Killings At Kingfisher Hill Plot:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
So, I fully intended to love this book because I have always loved the Agatha Christie Poirot books and I was very excited when Sophie Hannah began writing them and I have read one of the others in the series which I enjoyed. However, my main issue with this book was that I felt it was quite predictable. The book starts with the bus/coach journey that stops at different places and there are a lot of events that happen and characters introduced here but I felt like a lot of the twists were already revealed here, I am sure they were meant to be subtle so that when you see the twist later you can go back and see where it was built up in the plot but for me it wasn’t subtle enough. The actual book itself was enjoyable to read, I did like the story and the typical Agatha Christie mystery of a country estate and a limited group of possible killers.
The Killings At Kingfisher Hill Characters:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
The only character I can talk about without spoiling anything is Poirot. I think Sophie Hannah has brilliantly captured the essence of Poirot with his nuances and the parts of his character that make him instantly recognizable.
The Killings At Kingfisher Hill Writing and Dialogue:
As I said above, I enjoyed the book overall and I think this is a lot because of the writing of Sophie Hannah. She manages to get the feel of an Agatha Christie while still keeping the writing clear and easy to understand exactly what is happening.
The Killings At Kingfisher Hill Overall:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
I gave this book three stars overall because I can say the book was good and I liked it but I didn’t like how predictable it felt to me.
Blurb/Synopsis:
Hercule Poirot is traveling by luxury passenger coach from London to the exclusive Kingfisher Hill estate. Richard Devonport has summoned the renowned detective to prove that his fiancée, Helen, is innocent of the murder of his brother, Frank. Poirot will have only days to investigate before Helen is hanged, but there is one strange condition attached: he must conceal his true reason for being there from the rest of the Devonport family.
The coach is forced to stop when a distressed woman demands to get off, insisting that if she stays in her seat, she will be murdered. Although the rest of the journey passes without anyone being harmed, Poirot’s curiosity is aroused, and his fears are later confirmed when a body is discovered with a macabre note attached . . .
Could this new murder and the peculiar incident on the coach be clues to solving the mystery of who killed Frank Devonport? And if Helen is innocent, can Poirot find the true culprit in time to save her from the gallows?
That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Thursday everyone! Merry Bookmas day 23! Today is going to be very busy for me because it is my sister’s birthday so I will be spending most of the day with her and making her birthday cake.
But for all of you I am bringing you a book review of The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict.
In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.
The Christmas Murder Game Plot:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
The plot of this book is basically that the Grandmother of the main character, Lily, dies and some of the family are invited to take part in a game to find twelve keys and the winner gets the deeds for the house but then there is a murder. There were so many elements to this plot that I usually like, such as locked room mysteries, isolated settings for murder mysteries, so I thought that I would love this book. It gave me the feeling of a modern take on an Agatha Christie but for me it felt almost too similar to her book – And Then There Were None, it also felt quite similar to The Inheritance Game. The other thing that wasn’t the best about this book was that I had guessed the ending within the first 100 pages. This book was okay but I don’t think I would reread it – except to use it for my PhD.
The Christmas Murder Game Characters:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
So Lily is the main character in this book, I won’t give my thoughts on any of the other characters because it could give away the story, and for most of the book I enjoyed her character. She is exceptionally good at riddles and I liked seeing her thought process behind each one. However, I was hoping for a better character arc for her. I was hoping her character would grow in confidence but this only happened a little.
The Christmas Murder Game Writing and Dialogue:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
The writing was one of the best parts about this book. It was clear and flowed really well and the dialogue brought out the personalities of the characters.
The Christmas Murder Game Overall:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
I gave this book three stars overall because it wasn’t a bad book it just felt like I was reading something I had already read before.
Blurb/Synopsis:
Twelve clues. Twelve keys. Twelve days of Christmas. But who will survive until Twelfth Night?
Lily Armitage never intended to return to Endgame House – the grand family home where her mother died twenty-one Christmases ago. Until she receives a letter from her aunt, asking her to return to take part in an annual tradition: the Christmas Game. The challenge? Solve twelve clues, to find twelve keys. The prize? The deeds to the manor house.
Lily has no desire to win the house. But her aunt makes one more promise: The clues will also reveal who really killed Lily’s mother all those years ago.
So, for the twelve days of Christmas, Lily must stay at Endgame House with her estranged cousins and unravel the riddles that hold the key not just to the family home, but to its darkest secrets. However, it soon becomes clear that her cousins all have their own reasons for wanting to win the house – and not all of them are playing fair.
As a snowstorm cuts them off from the village, the game turns deadly. Soon Lily realises that she is no longer fighting for an inheritance, but for her life.
This Christmas is to die for . . . Let the game begin
That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!
Happy Thursday bookish people! Merry bookmas day 9. I always love a good quiz, especially around Christmas time so I thought why not combine my love of Christmas, books and quizzes all in one. I will say I did not create this quiz, I found it on readingthroughinfinity.com.
So, let’s get on with the quiz!
Which genre is your go to? A. Fantasy, B. Historical, C. Contemporary/Romance, D. Thriller/Mystery, E. Sci-fi
What do you look forward to most over Christmas? A. Snow, B. Giving/receiving presents, C. Spending time with family, D. Decorating, E. Watching films
Pick a Winter Wonderland: A –
B –
C –
D –
E –
What is your favourite Christmas food? A. Mince pies, B. Stollen/Yule log, C. Christmas Cake, D. Roast Dinner, E. Christmas Pudding
Pick a Christmas jumper: A –
B –
C –
D –
E –
What would you ask for as a present? A. Books, B. An experience day, C. Clothes, D. something else, E. Game
Choose a decoration? A. Tinsel, B. Baubles, C. Mistletoe, D. Wreaths, E. Lights
If you got:
Mostly As: Caraval by Stephanie Garber
Mostly Bs: Three Sisters Three Queens by Philippa Gregory
Mostly Cs: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Mostly Ds: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
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